A Mission
by Peterwontgrowup
Summary: Peter Pan and the Lost Boys carry out a carefully planned mission and try to avoid the pirates at all costs.


It was a daring mission. Meticulously mapped out for weeks, their scheme could hold no possible flaw, yet the boys perused every inch of their plans. Everything had to be carried out perfectly. They had to be prepared. "But what if—,"one of the boys would pipe up, but he was quickly shushed by a reply of "Then we will do this." It was a daring mission, indeed. One that would take every ounce of cleverness and bravery to pull off. Luckily for them, Peter Pan was their leader.

One by one, the Lost Boys filed out of their hideout. Clubs and slingshots in hand, they stealthily moved from tree to tree, bush to bush. Their leader flew overhead, careful to stay hidden amongst the abundance of summer leaves in the trees. Hoping no pirate would try to foil their plans now, their eyes and ears were on high alert. Everything was going swimmingly. And then there was a _SNAP!_

A twig.

Peter poked his head out from a cloud of thick, green leaves. "CUBBY!" he shouted angrily. The chubby Lost Boy looked down to the ground and noticed a small stick broken in pieces under his foot.

"S-sorry Peter!" he whispered, but the other boys in line turned to shush him. Cubby stepped on a twig, breaking the silence in the forest, but no, their plan was not yet thwarted. "Look!" Cubby pointed straight ahead. "There's the ship!"

And there it was, just a little ways further down from the cluster of Lost Boys, in the ocean. But the Lost Boys weren't going to board the ship. No, that wasn't necessary to their mission at all. You see, a few weeks ago the Twins reported to Peter Pan that the band of pirates had discovered new treasure on different parts of the island.

"They collected it!" one twin had said.

"And put it away in a chest!" the other added.

"And then they buried it."

"Right in the sand."

"On the beach near their ship!"

"Beautiful, it was."

"And shiny, too!"

So, the boys conspired to steal the treasure, right from under the pirates' noses. It was the perfect mission. Daring, but guaranteed to make the pirates furious. Just wanted Peter wanted. And now they stood inches from the beach, their little hands itching to grab hold of the emeralds, rubies, and pearls that were hidden underneath the sand. Hopefully, as planned, the pirate crew would all still be asleep and the Lost Boys would easily be able to dig out the treasure chest.

"All right, troops," Peter swooped down from the sky to salute his band of Lost Boys. "Get digging!"

The Lost Boys at once nodded to their captain's order and raced to the beach. The Twins led the way, knowing exactly where they saw the pirates bury the treasure. One by one, they circled around the desired digging spot and plummeted into the sand. So many questions whirled through their head from anticipation and excitement. Who would be the first the scratch the surface of the treasure chest? How deep did the pirates bury it? What kind of treasure will they uncover? Whose stomach is rumbling? Seriously, we just had breakfast before we left, Cubby.

Peter was not digging with the rest of the boys. Instead, he kept an eye on the pirate ship, watching so intently for any sign of pirate activity. Their plan was going all too well and the pirate ship was still so strangely quiet. Granted, the pirates were asleep as they spend many hours of the night searching every inch of the island in an attempt to find the Lost Boy hideout (they've yet to find it), but usually one could hear Mr. Smee's thunderous snores from the beach. Peter opened his mouth to ask whether or not the others could hear anything when the Lost Boys started calling for him.

"PETER!" They called in unison. "We've got it!"

With a mischievous smile plastered on his young face, Peter bolted towards the boys he laid eyes on the giant wooden chest with fine gold edging. The other boys all high-fived each other, ecstatic their mission had gone so smoothly.

"All right, boys. Let's open it together!" said Peter as he reached out for the treasure chest. The Lost Boys followed suit and soon they all had their hands on the chest, eagerly waiting for Peter to give the call to open it.

"On three. Ready? One… Two…"

"Three."

A deeper voice, not belonging to any of the never aging boys, finished the countdown. Without skipping a beat, the boys whipped around in surprise to find the entire crew of pirates leering at them. Captain Hook waltzed forward, his extravagant garb clearly distinguishing the pirate captain from the rest of crew. Peter fingers slowly inched towards his dagger clipped to his belt, but Hook raised his rapier to Peter's throat a second too quickly.

"Tsk tsk, I wouldn't do that, boy," he patronized with an evil sneer spreading across his unshaven face. "We wouldn't want to cause a scene."

The Lost Boys were helpless, having dropped their own weapons long ago when they started digging. Peter, however, didn't flinch at Hook's warning. His finger stayed close to his dagger as he waited for the perfect opportunity to unleash it.

"Nice to see you're awake today, Captain. Nightmares of the crocodile keep ya up?" Peter goaded. Oh how he loved to tease mercilessly.

Hook, of course, was not amused and only gifted Peter with a small, fake chuckle. "If you must know, boy, I was having a rather pleasant dream. Oh yes, I very sweet one indeed. In which I finally caught you."

"Well, that sounds a little on the creepy side if ya ask me."

"I AM NOT ASKING YOU, YOU INSOLENT BOY," Hook raged, his rapier now dangerously poking at Peter's skin. The Lost Boys rushed forward to protect their leader to which the pirates responded by menacingly displaying their freshly sharpen swords. "As I was saying, I had finally caught you and your gangly band of misfits in the most perfect rouse and now it is all playing out before my eyes most wonderfully." The pirate crew let out low sniggers from behind their captain.

"No wonder you tried to kidnap Wendy. You're really bad at telling stories." It was the Lost Boys' turn to giggle this time. Feeling more confident, they began to back up closer to the unearthed treasure chest. They thought about what would happen if the pirates were to show up, and they were getting nearer to finish out their mission.

Captain Hook let out a frustrated groan and stomped his foot, clearly fed up with Peter's snide remarks. Peter had been waiting for this moment, when Hook would foolishly withdraw his rapier in his frustration. He then snatched his dagger from his belt and stood prepared for battle. The Lost Boys quickly filled their pockets with as many gems as they could stuff inside.

"Get the others!" Hook cried out to his crew as the Lost Boys began to run back into the forest. "Get them and leave Pan to me!"

Peter hovered in the air so he could fight on the pirate's level. The Lost Boys were already clear into the forest; the pirates were too slow to keep up. "Halfway to another win, Captain Codfish! And you're halfway to another loss!"

"I will not lose this time, Peter Pan," the words somehow manage to come through Hook's gritted teeth. He slashed his rapier, one after another, but Peter Pan was a superb swordsman and deflected every slash. His tight grip ensured his dagger wouldn't fly out of his hand. Hook, however, was sweating. This was not how his dreamed played out. It was not supposed to end this way. He could not lose again to a boy.

"So Hook." Another deflection. "If you have dreams about me." Another clash of swords. "And Wendy dreams about me." Clang. "And I'm pretty sure Tiger Lily does, too… Whaddaya think all those dreams mean?"

"ENOUGH!" Hook roared and jabbed, but Peter was too skillful. The rapier went flying out of Hook's sweaty grasp as Peter knocked it away.

"I win again!" the boy laughed. "Gosh, Hook. Maybe you should spend less time dreaming and more time practicing with that sword. Or just stop sweating so much, it is pretty gross."

With those last remarks, Hook had finally had enough. His hands surged forward, looking to crush, intending to strangle. But then the sound came. The so familiar and haunting ticking of a clock. Oh what an evil smile Peter flashed at the frozen pirate captain.

"You know, Wendy told me once crocodiles are faster on land. And wow! Look at that, Captain! This is some nice land we're on today."

Bushes rustled just beyond the line where the beach met the forest and Peter noticed Hook perspiring much more than before. He saw the internal struggle in the pirate's eyes. How he wanted to continue to fight, yet how he wanted to flee for the sake of his life. And his pants.

"I'll get you for this, Pan," It was a barely audible whisper but no less threatening. "If it's last thing I do." And with that, Hook was off.

Peter cried after him, "Hope you enjoy dinner!"

Later, back at the hideout, the Lost Boys all sat around and admired their new treasure. Tootles tried stringing some jewels together to create a necklace. Te Twins took turns polishing their emeralds with their tails and Nibs held up gems to the light, marveling at the different spots of light it created. Cubby was eating.

Peter, on the other hand, spent his time with his share of the treasure – a nice gold crown that lay perfectly atop his red-haired head. He was quite satisfied with the mission. It was daring and it was fun. It would be quite the story to tell Wendy next time she visits.


End file.
